Bucks vs. Bobcats Pregame: Breakfast Edition

Not much should be taken from NBA preseason games. Coaches mess around with rotations, players aren’t always giving it full effort and games sometimes start at 10 in the morning. But, for the sanity of Milwaukee Bucks fans everywhere, the Bucks (2-4) need to win today’s game against the Charlotte Bobcats (1-5).

Last year, the Bobcats were arguably the worst team in NBA history. They set records for least wins (7) and lowest winning percentage (.106), and they finished the season on a 23-game losing streak. Since March 17, the Bobcats are 1-28.

Obviously, this isn’t the same Bobcats team as last year. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Ramon Sessions and Jeff Taylor are nice, new, young pieces. Kemba Walker, Bismack Biyombo and Byron Mullens have all improved and they’re all really funny to watch. Ben Gordon and Brendon Haywood are sort of competent.

But, unfortunately for Charlotte, none of these players will be able to resurrect the Bobcats. And neither will first year head coach Mike Dunlap. The Bobcats are certain to be bottom dwellers.

So, even with it being preseason, this is a game that the Bucks need to win for the sake of the fans. A loss to the Bobcats, as well as five-straight losses overall, would be extremely unsettling, albeit meaningless.

This will be a good test for Tobias Harris. Gilchrist, the 2nd overall pick in the 2012 draft, is one of the few defensive SFs in this league that will be able to match both the strength and quickness of Harris, who has struggled offensively in his past two games. Against Washington and Toronto, Harris was a combined 2-14 from the field with 5 rebounds and 7 fouls in 37 minutes. These numbers will need to quickly improve if Harris hopes to hold claim on the starting job.

Larry Sanders All-Star Watch:

Hey. Guess what? Ian isn’t writing this preview. I am. And I love Larry Sanders and you all should too. Allow me to quickly explain.

Larry is just an ‘ol fashioned fella that likes to block shots and pick up fouls. He tries hard and he likes to talk about pace. Granted, he may take too many jumpers, he may have frying pans for hands and he may not be able to control his limbs. But those are all just fun quirks that allow us to love him even more. Embrace the Sanders and he will embrace you.

Thank you.

Prediction: The Bucks will win. They’ll play with a lot more tenacity than they have in their last two games. The game will finish before lunchtime.

I love Larry, too! Always have, he’s better than Udoh and less of a twig than John Henson. Plus, he writes poetry on his Twitter page, starts fights with Pacers players, and has his own show. I honestly love watching him play, he’s exciting and there’s not a player with more potential on the team.